PSP horror hits North American PSN on January 15 for $19.99

Publisher XSEED Games is ready to provide some early 2013 frights for PSP owners with Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, which is officially set for release on January 15. The horror follow-up will be available to download via PSN for $19.99, and you can take a peek with the latest trailer below.

This time around the adventure/visual novel spins a web of short stories centered on characters from the original game, introducing hypothetical scenarios and "what if they survived?" situations. Book of Shadows was developed by 5pb with input from Corpse Party developer Team GrisGris.

More on the game from XSEED's press release:

In Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, players will be given an opportunity to change the fates of the game’s characters – for better, or, in classic Corpse Party fashion, for worse. Despite the apparent benefit of knowing the first game’s events, players should not expect to have all the answers, and at times will find themselves asking if the destiny of these unfortunate souls can truly be altered. Once again, “wrong ends” lurk around nearly every corner, amplified by binaural 3D audio effects when headphones are used and the chilling original Japanese voice track.

Gameplay in Corpse Party: Book of Shadows takes players on a more personal tour of Heavenly Host, with a point-and-click, adventure-style first-person perspective. As the terror level rises for individual characters, the unique “darkening” system will slowly distort the game’s visuals and alter the students’ decision-making abilities. “Wrong ends”, while just as horrific, come with fewer consequences this time around, as players can save anywhere and fast-forward through events they’ve already seen in order to expedite the process of achieving each scenario’s true ending.

The North American launch will be followed by a European PSN release soon.